Each Precious Moment
by MoonytheMarauder1
Summary: Lily isn't quite sure how to sort through her feelings for James, but she agrees to a date with him. Their date is soon crashed however, and a new side of James is revealed to Lily.


**A/N: Hey y'all! This was written for Hogwarts and HPFC. Prompts are below :)**

**Note: This is an AU where James and Lily started dating after seventh year.**

**Word Count: 2300**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Those rights go to JK Rowling.**

**Enjoy!**

It was pouring rain, but was James Potter going to call off their date? Apparently not.

There was a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder, and Lily's hand flew to James' shoulder. "James. Maybe we should just come back another—"

"I may have grown up in a wizarding household, Lily, but I assure you that I can drive a car through a storm." He grinned. "Remus' mum taught me."

Lily bit her lip. James' carefree attitude was something she was used to, but he still had a talent for getting himself into trouble. Somehow, throwing him into a Muggle vehicle in the middle of the night during a storm did nothing to calm her nerves.

Besides that, she still had trouble believing that she was going on a date with James Potter. He'd mellowed out during his last couple years of school, yes, and had been a good friend to her for four years now… but Lily was still nervous. What if this new maturity—and kindness—was just an act?

Lily shook her head. No. That wasn't fair to James. People could change, they could grow—she was only looking for excuses for her own cowardice.

Lily pinched herself. James winced. "Ow." He looked over. "What was that for?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Just testing the soulmate bond."

James' hazel eyes flickered with something akin to sadness. "Lily… if you're doing this just because we're soulmates, I'm going to drive you back. I want you to be here because you want to be, not because you feel like you have to be."

Lily felt a warmth pooling in her chest, though she would never admit it. "I want to be here, James," she promised him. And it was the truth. She liked him—she just… didn't have the best track record with keeping friends. Or boyfriends. But she wasn't about to let past judgements interrupt her future, she decided.

The sparkle returned to James' eyes, and he took his right hand off the steering wheel momentarily to squeeze her hand. "Good. Let's go see that Muggle film."

* * *

They arrived at the cinema in one piece, for which Lily was grateful. They took their seats and were plunged into blackness. The movie began shortly after, and Lily was surprised to find that she was having a good time. She stole some of James' popcorn, and his arm found its way over her shoulders at one point. He started playing with her long, red hair as they watched, and Lily was surprised by how nice it felt.

At some point, James' hand found her own. At first she thought he was doing it to be romantic, but then she realized, as his breath hitched, that the graphics on the screen had shocked him. It hadn't occurred to her before, but she realized that wizards didn't have an equivalent to films. He'd likely never seen something so violent before.

Lily wondered suddenly if a horror film had been the best choice.

"Hey," she whispered as quietly as she could, "we can leave if you'd like."

James turned his head towards her, but his eyes didn't leave the screen. "No bloody way. I'm never going to sleep tonight if I don't find out how it ends."

That startled a laugh out of Lily, and she playfully batted at his arm. Their hands, though, remained intertwined.

As the movie was drawing to a close, Lily heard someone stumble in the aisle and glanced back to make sure everyone was okay. Her blood froze when she saw who'd tripped.

Her hand locked onto James' wrist. She turned back to the screen, praying that she hadn't been spotted. "James," she whispered.

He leaned over. "Yeah?"

Lily's heart rate was quickly gaining speed. "The Lestranges."

James quickly glanced over, then looked back at Lily with surprising calmness. "How do we get out of here?"

Lily glanced around for an alternate exit. It seemed like the Lestranges—Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan—were checking every row, and it didn't take a genius to figure out who they were looking for. Lily hoped it was dark enough in the theatre that their search would take a while—she herself might not have even recognized them, having never run into them personally, had it not been for Bellatrix's eyes. She had only seen eyes that mad and dangerous once before, in the pictures Sirius Black reluctantly showed her of his biological family; he insisted vehemently that the Potters were his true family.

The Lestranges, though, were in the back of the theatre, working their way down. Lily swallowed thickly and glanced at James. "We'll have to slip out past them," she muttered. "There's no other exit."

James nodded and took her hand, leading her quietly out. James pressed them against the wall and looked around their surroundings.

"I think there might be more Death Eaters in the front," he murmured. "Is there another way out of the building?"

Lily's blood froze. "Death Eaters?"

She knew there was a war going on. She knew she was a target because of her blood status, and she knew that her former classmates made up most of You-Know-Who's army.

What they were doing after James and herself, she didn't know. She had never expected to actually meet one.

"What are they doing here?" she hissed as they began to creep towards the back of the building.

James ran a hand over the back of his neck. "I _really_ shouldn't be telling you this, but… I'm sort of… a member of the Order."

Lily stopped. "The Order?"

"Of the Phoenix."

Lily's breath caught in her throat. "_James_," she whispered. The Order of the Phoenix, she knew, was right up in the middle of the war, and their members were _always_ targets.

For some reason, it surprised her that James was a member. He was brave, yes, but she had never thought of him as that… _selfless._ In her mind, he was half the man he was now, and half the boy he'd been at school. And as much as she was trying to change that view, it was difficult to.

And that wasn't fair to him, she realized. He had many flaws, yes. He was far from being a perfect person, and some days he wasn't even a good one. But he was capable of growing into someone better, and her own stubbornness had been holding her back from seeing that.

Maybe that was why she refused to let herself fall for him.

James pulled her into an alcove suddenly, his hazel eyes full of regret, effectively ripping her from her musings. "Lily, listen… I'm so sorry about this. Tonight was supposed to be about you and me, and it just didn't end up that way. I didn't mean for them to find me, but they did, and now… please trust me to get us out of here."

Lily was pressed tightly against James in the small space, and when she spoke, her voice was almost inaudible. "I do trust you. Just—Merlin, James. You've barely graduated school."

"Lily… innocent people are dying for no reason other than someone deciding their heritage just wasn't good enough. People like" —James' voice dropped— "you. And I can't let anything happen to you. I've messed so many things up, and now I finally have a chance to make things right. Given what we've been through—what I've put us through—haven't we earned that?"

Lily was vaguely aware that she was trembling, and it wasn't because of the Death Eaters searching for them. "Don't—don't tell me that you're doing this for me. Don't you even _dare,_ Potter."

"For you," James said firmly, "and for Remus. Sirius, Peter. Myself." He took a deep breath. "I'm doing it for the people I care about, and you're one of them." He bit his lip and peered at her worriedly. "This is our country, our home—we have a right to be here." He took her hands in his own. "Our home is worth saving."

Lily let out a shaky breath she hadn't been aware of holding. "Are you trying to recruit me, Potter?"

He blinked, then let out a weak laugh. "Just trying to make you understand why I've thrown myself into a revolution."

She didn't speak for a moment. When she did, it came out as an unsteady whisper. "I forget sometimes, how brave you are."

James put his hands on her shoulders. "You're just as brave, Lily."

Lily screwed her green eyes shut tightly. "It's never been real before now."

He wrapped his arms around her, and she nearly melted. Not because it was romantic, but because it was an entirely friendly embrace, meant only to offer comfort. It was exactly what she needed.

"Come on. I think there might be a way to get onto the roof."

Lily pulled back and frowned at him. "The roof?"

James just grinned. "You'll see. Come on."

He led her through the hallway, expertly sneaking around corners and dodging suspicious persons. Lily nearly laughed out loud at the realization that James' years of mischief-making had paid off.

James led her up a stairwell, and Lily shivered in the cold night air. It was drizzling out, and she held her hands above her face in an attempt to keep the water out of her eyes. "James," she called nervously, "there isn't a way down."

James had walked over to the edge of the building and raised his wand. "Disapparating," he informed her, "is too risky in a Muggle town—we don't know who will be around when we appear. There's another way, though."

He lifted his wand higher. "_Accio_, broom!"

Lily waited nearly a full minute before she hissed, "What if we're out of range?"

James glanced her way. "Be patient."

The door opened, and Lily's heart nearly stopped beating. "Too late."

They turned around to see Bellatrix grinning at them, her black eyes glistening with a mad gleam.

"If it isn't wee Potter and his Mudblood girlfriend!" She cackled and approached them slowly. "Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. But you know what, Potter? If you hand over the Mudblood we'll let you go this time."

Lily palmed her wand and pointed it at the older witch as James positioned himself in front of her. "I would never," he snarled.

Bellatrix didn't seem bothered. "It's your last chance to walk away, Potter," she whispered, the sound somehow carrying over the rain. "You could leave, unharmed and happy."

James leveled his wand at her, his eyes blazing. "I will choose her happiness over mine every time," he promised. His shoulders were pushed back and his feet were set in a fighting stance. Lily thought he'd never looked more handsome.

Bellatrix's responding grin was the most bone-chilling thing Lily had ever witnessed. "I was hoping you'd say that," she purred.

Before Lily could even blink, a jet of red light was soaring towards her—then James was there to expertly deflect it. Quickly coming out of her shock, Lily joined the battle, her skills rusty at best but still effective. For a minute, she thought they had her.

Then Rodolphus and Rabastan joined the fray.

Lily's red hair was flying about her face as she moved. A spell had grazed her arm, and blood was now dripping freely from the wound; she'd need it looked at later, she knew. Her breathing came in short gasps, and her leg was aching from where James had been hit—sometimes she really _hated_ the soulmate bond. Her movements were gradually slowing, and she shot James a fearful look.

"Keep going," he ground out through a clenched jaw. "Any moment now, we'll be out of here."

As though on cue, James' top-of-the-line broomstick soared into his hand. He grinned and then whipped around to their attackers. "_Reducto!_" he shouted, blowing up some of the roof. While the Lestranges were distracted, he grabbed Lily's hand and practically threw her on top of the broom, climbing on behind her. A moment later, they were airborne.

"This is your big idea?" Lily shouted, her heart in her throat. "This is the worst idea you've ever had!"

She could hear James' grin in his voice. "I know! It's brilliant!"

He flew them around town, Lily remembering to cast a hasty Disillusionment Charm, and soon the theater was out of sight. Lily slumped against James, who, she knew, was in his element. She wasn't one for flying, but soon his excitement and her own relief filled her to the brim.

"Merlin," she gasped as he began to descend, "I didn't think—I thought for sure that—"

"Yeah." James ran a hand through his windswept black hair, his cheeks flushed from the wind. "It was a close one."

He landed and helped her off the broom, and that was when Lily realized that she could do it—right here, right now, she could kiss him and he would know exactly how she felt about him. They were soulmates after all; it probably wouldn't even be a surprise to him.

But something about that still scared her. She just wasn't ready to admit something that heavy yet.

The moment passed, and James slung his broom over his shoulders. "Your house isn't far from here," he told her. "I'll walk you."

Lily nodded, then frowned. "What about your car?"

James winced, but shrugged. "I'll see if it's still there in the morning. If it's not, then I owe Sirius ten pounds… and not for the reasons he was expecting. He didn't think I could keep track of it."

Lily couldn't help it; she laughed. Then she fell in step with James, following him home.

She had infinity to fall in love with him, she realized—and infinity to tell him that, as well. For now, she was happy to enjoy each precious moment.

**A/N:**

**Assorted Appreciation: 6. Alt. (dialogue) "Given what we've been through, haven't we earned that?"**

**Disney Challenge: Characters 1. Tinkerbell — write about someone who always gets into trouble, despite having the best of intentions. **

**Trope of the Month: 5. (dialogue) "How do we get out of here?"**

**All Sorts of Space: 5. (setting) stormy night**

**Book Club: Claire — (word) carefree, (plot point) playing with someone's hair, (time) night**

**Showtime: 44. Best of Wives and Best of Women — (time) middle of the night**

**Amber's Attic: 37. "I will choose her happiness over mine every time."**

**Liza's Loves: 13. Gnome — Write about someone who enjoys puns or pranks**

**Angel's Arcade: Mei — (dialogue) "Our home is worth saving.", (theme) hope, (pairing) JamesLily**

**Scamander's Case: 2. (weather) thunderstorm**

**Film Festival: 19. (action) hiding**

**Marvel Appreciation: Space Stone: 6. (word) infinity**

**Seasonal Challenges:**

**Days of the Year: 15th September — write about someone realizing they take their partner for granted**

**Summer: 19. (weather) thunderstorm**

**Fire: 3. (word) sparkle**

**Mix It Up: Lily Evans, exhilaration**

**Gryffindor: Characters 2. Lily Evans, Traits 2. Bravery**

**Fortnightly:**

**Soulmates R Us: 5. You get the same injuries as your soulmate**

**Southern Funfair: Test Your Strength: God: "This is the worst idea you've ever had."**

**Photo Booth: Beauty and the Beast Theme: (2/4) (plot point) being cursed**

**Gnome Throwing: Lily Potter I (wc: )**

**365 Words: 111. Creep**

**Insane House: 569. (song) I Won't Say I'm in Love - Hercules**


End file.
